How long are wakesurfers lasting for you guys? Anyone have any insight on the life their getting out of the foam core boards? Soulcraft, chaos, etc? We've had a Brigade Tamarindo skim for less than a year and it snapped. I'm told by the company they've never seen a break quite like this but that all surfers these days are pretty frail and there's not much of a warranty. The board rode great so no complaints there, I'm just looking for other opinions before I go out and spend a bunch of money on a replacement.

I transport and store all my boards in bags. With that being said I have been buying soulcraft surf boards since 08 and all 15 of them are still in service. Sure I have had to do a few ding repairs along the way but all are still in great shape and fun to ride.

How long are wakesurfers lasting for you guys? Anyone have any insight on the life their getting out of the foam core boards? Soulcraft, chaos, etc? We've had a Brigade Tamarindo skim for less than a year and it snapped. I'm told by the company they've never seen a break quite like this but that all surfers these days are pretty frail and there's not much of a warranty. The board rode great so no complaints there, I'm just looking for other opinions before I go out and spend a bunch of money on a replacement.

Good gravy NOT NORMAL!

I have never broken a board. Owned several Chaos, a few SC, and a few Lakewakes. All are still kicking!

i used to break boards all the time. I am a pretty big guys and ride pretty hard. Since the custom board company i work with started using some higher end lams and not just the standard e-glass i dont break boards anymore.

Sorry to hear (and see) that your board broke man, that's a bummer. Unless there were some external abusing factors, we would definitely say the board should last longer than a year. Were y'all airing it out like crazy and taking hard landings or something?

For perspective, we purchased a used Shred Stixx Ringer years ago that was already a few years old and rode the heck out of it. The only thing that went out on it was the traction, but that's to be expected. We had a few ding repairs here and there, but that's also to be expected for any board with a foam core wrapped in fiberglass.

As for the longevity of foam all core boards, it's dependent on a few factors but one of the biggest is how the boards are taken care of. As others have mentioned, keeping them in bags on the boat helps prolong their life, as well as storing them inside a climate controlled room (plus they look cool inside). Keep them out of the sun as much as possible. I'd say if you take care of it properly, don't have a pro-level rider beating the life out of it, and monitor it for maintenance indicators, a correctly sized board should last for multiple years. If you're an average skilled level surfer and take care of your gear you'll most likely want a new board out of boredom first than necessity. Just our .02

I guess I will jump in as an expert in this field.... First of all you can break a board if you want to. Landing the wrong way doing big airs and shuvs can crumple and snap a board pretty quick. This most often happens with people learning airs and landing stiff legged or in the flats, etc.

The company line you were fed was BS. Your board is a thinnish skim like board made in China (thicker than normal skims, but way thinner then a surf style board). Without other materials to make it stiffer or rigid like carbon fiber, etc., it is prone to breaking. Most skim specialty companies use high density PVC or other cores wrapped in at least one surface with carbon fiber to manufacture a more lasting board. The build on your board was destined to snap at some point.

Like others have indicated, protecting your board from the elements can help with longevity and simply keeping it looking new. Even the best modern epoxies and surface finishers, will yellow in time when left in the sun. If you want your board to stay bright white, keep it in a bag or sock and clean it periodically. If it has spray art on the foam or print graphics, those will fade in time, but they will fade much more quickly in the sun. UV eats up pigments.

For skims like yours we actually manufacture our own proprietary cores. It is somewhat similar to what LibTech does, we just make it so it can be customizable. We've been playing with this type of composite sandwich build for many many years.

The biggest damage complaint we hear from people day in and day out, not just our boards but all the top end custom ones, is damage because they let their friend ride it or a newbie that shot it right in to the boat.

Thanks for the responses guys. To answer a few of the questions I'm definitely not airing it out huge, with some luck the whole board gets out of the water a handful of times per run haha. I could have been landing stiff legged or something like that as Nick was saying, it was never launched into the boat or anything. But it definitely been used over the summer, we get out probably twice a week a take a couple runs on it each time. The board is always stored in a sock under the seat, we don't even put it in a rack cause I didn't want it bouncing around. It's stored in a garage that's air conditioned so our stuff doesn't sit in the sun or anything.

I have heard from a couple sources now that this board was a cheesy model made in china, which is a bummer because I thought it was a custom built board. But I'm glad to hear that you guys are getting more time out of your boards from some of the other companies, even though I liked the board I'd probably rather try another brand at this point. I just want to snatch something up quickly so we can get back out there.

My boards are holding up as well. Never snapped one, but have repaired a few dings. Not sure what you're doing with that board, but I don't think a thicker foam core would've helped.

looks like it got run over by a truck.

I'm glad to hear others have had better luck with these custom boards holding up and this seems more like a fluke. But I really don't think this board was subject to any abuse, definitely no trucks involved haha I'm thinking it had to have been a manufacturers defect with this one. I'm kinda bummed Brigade didn't want to help out more because I really enjoyed riding it.

Anyway as an update we picked up a Doomswell neo from a dealer here in town. I've heard good things about the product and the customer service so we gave a new company a try. I didn't go with another skim since we already have another in the boat, but it's fun to have surf and skim to try.

Wow! Sorry to see that! I bought my 2018 Slingshot Butter Bar 56" early in the year as a hybrid board for a beginner rider (me) and all I can say about the board is this: It quickly became the 'go-to' board for everyone from beginners like me to experts (though they all still LOVE their Liquid Force Keen). All types of tricks were done on this board with no real damage (other than a nose ding - my fault). Riders weight/height ranged from 5'2"/120 (wife) to 6'5"/230 (me). Easy to get up on with a TON of push.

We have the Lib-tech Air'n and love it. It is super light, fast and responsive. Definitely became go to board for everyone and it looks like the day i took it out of the box. We are in Florida sun and it has held up fine to the elements and use.

Had an inland surfer and a triple x that needed basic repairs took them to a custom builder at the beach who builds surf boards SUP's etc. He went off about the cheap Chinese construction and how they use crap and old materials. Our triple x (which we all enjoyed riding) had fin plugs that FCS does not even make anymore and we bought it in 17. He said the plugs were form 12-13 WTF. He refused to repair because he said it would just happen again and did not want to take our money.

He then talked about the inflated prices of some of the "custom builders". He said he could build a 10 foot custom SUP for what some of them are charging for a wakesurfer. I don't know if that is true but food for thought.

Sounds like a grumpy old guy struggling to sell board to his local market. If his boards were good and in demand he could charge more. SUPs are the shaping equivalent of Hugos. People that can't shape real boards shape SUPs. There really is no USA built market for the older traditional surfboard style SUPs, they are pretty much all made in china. However, an off the shelf or custom prone or racing style paddle board made in the USA will run you 2K-5K.

As far as chinese builds, some of what he is referencing is true, some is not. Most overseas factories use knock off fin boxes and plugs. All FCS plugs and boxes are made in china. And FCS still makes and sells every plug style they have always made. There weren't any that ceased to be made in 2012 or 2013. But yes, your triple X board uses knock off FCS-style plugs, that tend to be much lower quality thermo-molded plastic. Futures fins boxes are made in the USA, but there are lots of knock offs made in China. The Inland Surfer board was made in Thailand, not China. A proper repair, and it shouldn't keep happening. In my experience, fcs style plugs in wakeboard brand boards from overseas just aren't installed properly, so they tend to break out.

Dang dude. I have this exact board. I don't ride it as I have a Chaos Bamboo Ringer XXL but all the smaller people in my crew love the Tamarindo. I even have the
Tamarindo in a smaller size. Is yours it the version of the Tamarindo that they made for a corporate giveaway?

I also thought they made these boards in the USA. You learn something new every day.

That's funny, I know Mike. He is a damn good shaper and a world class glasser. A custom board from him isn't going to be cheap, but in general there are shapers that will make basic polyurethane/polyester surfboards for $450 to $500 (average price these days is $600-700) Add $100 if you want an eps/epoxy board. Wakesurfboards generally get more layers of fiberglass and other more expensive fabrics added which jumps up the material/labor costs. They are smaller and have tighter tolerances and more features than a typical surfboard which add time/labor/cost.

Mike is a super awesome guy. Maybe you caught him on a bad day, bad time or maybe just all misinterpreted. I know I can get pretty grumpy sometimes making boards.
I don't think SUPs are a big part of his business, in fact I don't think I have seen him post a SUP in many many years. But that is true of most, SUPs use to be made here in the US and a lot of them in Hawaii, but it is pretty much all china hard and soft top pop outs now.

Looking at Brigade's website, they now have their boards broken up into different lines. They have one line called the Nemesis series then in tiny letters it says "made in exotic garages", I'm assuming that means China. Then they have the "house" series at a higher price point that specifically states "USA made". So I guess they must have quietly shifted a bulk of their production to China. I feel like there was a lot more awareness when Slingshot and Doomswell each sent their production overseas.